Does anyone make money with dropshipping?

I recently bought a course about making money online by selling stuff on UK eBay and Amazon UK with dropshipping.

After spending hours researching I could not find anything on the dropshipping sites that met the criteria mentioned in the course. All the products I was interested in were being sold cheaper on eBay than I could buy them for from dropshippers.

The problem is you have to take a DATA-based approach to dropshipping!

Additionally, dropshippers INTENTIONALLY inflate their prices on their products. They do this because if they signed up just everyone, their markets would be saturated, and NO ONE would sell products for a profit. It happened in the early 2000's and dropshipper after dropshipper went out of business because there was such immense pressure to lower prices on their products.

So, dropshippers then started charging membership fees - which also wasn't popular.

So, then they started INFLATING their prices to HIGHER than the eBay prices OR the same price they pay.

This is so that people will come to their site and either immediately leave and not sign up with them.. They don't want to sign up with just anyone - they tried that before and went out of business.

Instead, you have to NEGOTIATE with them a VERY specific price.

Now how do you find that specific price? Well, that's a good question. Because with dropshipping, your margins are VERY thin - and you need to know all deductions that will happen on an eBay sale to make sure you're still making a profit.

If you approach a dropshipper by just looking at their price lists and saying: "Your pricelists are too high, I won't work with you" You haven't taken it as far as you should. You still need to negotiate a SPECIFIC lower price for them (and not just a percentage)

In fact, you should know not only the PRICE you SHOULD sell it for on eBay, but also the FORMAT...

This is something I've been teaching myself for YEARS.

However, without a history of selling it's hard to negotiate with a dropshipper anyway. There are other avenues to sell on eBay (other than dropshipping) with much higher margins that can help you get in the door with dropshippers.

Once you cross those sales thresholds, you'll then be able to negotiate more easily. PM me if you want to talk about this a little more. I have a free eBook that I can have you read to give you a good foundation.

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

The problem is you have to take a DATA-based approach to dropshipping!

Additionally, dropshippers INTENTIONALLY inflate their prices on their products. They do this because if they signed up just everyone, their markets would be saturated, and NO ONE would sell products for a profit. It happened in the early 2000's and dropshipper after dropshipper went out of business because there was such immense pressure to lower prices on their products.

So, dropshippers then started charging membership fees - which also wasn't popular.

So, then they started INFLATING their prices to HIGHER than the eBay prices OR the same price they pay.

This is so that people will come to their site and either immediately leave and not sign up with them.. They don't want to sign up with just anyone - they tried that before and went out of business.

Instead, you have to NEGOTIATE with them a VERY specific price.

Now how do you find that specific price? Well, that's a good question. Because with dropshipping, your margins are VERY thin - and you need to know all deductions that will happen on an eBay sale to make sure you're still making a profit.

If you approach a dropshipper by just looking at their price lists and saying: "Your pricelists are too high, I won't work with you" You haven't taken it as far as you should. You still need to negotiate a SPECIFIC lower price for them (and not just a percentage)

In fact, you should know not only the PRICE you SHOULD sell it for on eBay, but also the FORMAT...

This is something I've been teaching myself for YEARS.

However, without a history of selling it's hard to negotiate with a dropshipper anyway. There are other avenues to sell on eBay (other than dropshipping) with much higher margins that can help you get in the door with dropshippers.

Once you cross those sales thresholds, you'll then be able to negotiate more easily. PM me if you want to talk about this a little more. I have a free eBook that I can have you read to give you a good foundation.

The problem is you have to take a DATA-based approach to dropshipping!

Additionally, dropshippers INTENTIONALLY inflate their prices on their products. They do this because if they signed up just everyone, their markets would be saturated, and NO ONE would sell products for a profit. It happened in the early 2000's and dropshipper after dropshipper went out of business because there was such immense pressure to lower prices on their products.

So, dropshippers then started charging membership fees - which also wasn't popular.

So, then they started INFLATING their prices to HIGHER than the eBay prices OR the same price they pay.

This is so that people will come to their site and either immediately leave and not sign up with them.. They don't want to sign up with just anyone - they tried that before and went out of business.

Instead, you have to NEGOTIATE with them a VERY specific price.

Now how do you find that specific price? Well, that's a good question. Because with dropshipping, your margins are VERY thin - and you need to know all deductions that will happen on an eBay sale to make sure you're still making a profit.

If you approach a dropshipper by just looking at their price lists and saying: "Your pricelists are too high, I won't work with you" You haven't taken it as far as you should. You still need to negotiate a SPECIFIC lower price for them (and not just a percentage)

In fact, you should know not only the PRICE you SHOULD sell it for on eBay, but also the FORMAT...

This is something I've been teaching myself for YEARS.

However, without a history of selling it's hard to negotiate with a dropshipper anyway. There are other avenues to sell on eBay (other than dropshipping) with much higher margins that can help you get in the door with dropshippers.

Once you cross those sales thresholds, you'll then be able to negotiate more easily. PM me if you want to talk about this a little more. I have a free eBook that I can have you read to give you a good foundation.

-Auction Debt Eliminator.

Do you have a drop ship product Auction debt eliminator? I'm new to this forum but from what I've seen so far you seem to know the drop shipping area better than anyone. Really good advise!

Do you have a drop ship product Auction debt eliminator? I'm new to this forum but from what I've seen so far you seem to know the drop shipping area better than anyone. Really good advise!

Hello Loukee,

Yes, I do, actually. I created it out of reluctance, actually, though.

When I began, I became very successful at dropshipping. I didn't do it the way everyone else tries to do it - because everyone else gets the same results. No one wants to work with them, or the prices are all the exact same for everyone.

I figured there must be some other way.

So, I figured it out.

But then I got thinking: "Where does my supplier get the product?"

And then through a lot of investigation, I found his wholesaler - and became a wholesaler.

But then I began thinking: "Where does my wholesaler get it?"

Then I became an importer/manufacturer of the product and have great margins.

But then - I though - do I want to sell this many items at a time? Or do I want to sell a FEW items and still get super high margins?

So I figured out a way to sell a few items with high margins.

And that took me to where I am today.

However - I still get people who clamor at my door wanting to know: "ADE! HOW DO YOU DROPSHIP?!@?#@!?#@! %#T"

So. I finally caved to demand and wrote a book on how to do it, and I charge a fair price for it because it does work - because it requires work.

But - as a warning, when you become very successful at dropshipping, you'll always wonder: "How can I make more?"

It's how a good business person thinks. You always want to cut costs and increase margins and minimize time - (Maximize efficiency)

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

Yes, I do, actually. I created it out of reluctance, actually, though.

When I began, I became very successful at dropshipping. I didn't do it the way everyone else tries to do it - because everyone else gets the same results. No one wants to work with them, or the prices are all the exact same for everyone.

I figured there must be some other way.

So, I figured it out.

But then I got thinking: "Where does my supplier get the product?"

And then through a lot of investigation, I found his wholesaler - and became a wholesaler.

But then I began thinking: "Where does my wholesaler get it?"

Then I became an importer/manufacturer of the product and have great margins.

But then - I though - do I want to sell this many items at a time? Or do I want to sell a FEW items and still get super high margins?

So I figured out a way to sell a few items with high margins.

And that took me to where I am today.

However - I still get people who clamor at my door wanting to know: "ADE! HOW DO YOU DROPSHIP?!@?#@!?#@! %#T"

So. I finally caved to demand and wrote a book on how to do it, and I charge a fair price for it because it does work - because it requires work.

But - as a warning, when you become very successful at dropshipping, you'll always wonder: "How can I make more?"

It's how a good business person thinks. You always want to cut costs and increase margins and minimize time - (Maximize efficiency)

Im only new but I have been reading on the forum for a long time. Im trying to decide what to do to sell on eBay and Amazon, but I dont have much cash.

Dropshipping would let me get started but what you say makes me think there might be too much work for the money I could make. Importexport says you don't need much money to start importing from China and the profits are bigger.

Im only new but I have been reading on the forum for a long time. Im trying to decide what to do to sell on eBay and Amazon, but I dont have much cash.

Dropshipping would let me get started but what you say makes me think there might be too much work for the money I could make. Importexport says you don't need much money to start importing from China and the profits are bigger.

What do you think?

Nobody has answered you @shellg, so I will add my comment in reply to your question.

There is no doubt at all that if you want to make serious profits even with only very limited funds you need to buy direct from real manufacturers. It is possible to buy small quantities at ex-factory prices -- way under wholesale prices. But you need to learn how to approach manufacturers to get them to accept a small order.

You also need to be sure you are dealing with genuine manufacturers. There are thousands of traders on the big B2B site pretending to be manufacturers. I teach how to avoid them, partly by avoiding the sites that don't check them out properly.

How would you like to be able to place a $300 order and make 300% margin? That is what one of my book users reported recently. Anyone can do it.

I recently bought a course about making money online by selling stuff on UK eBay and Amazon UK with dropshipping.

After spending hours researching I could not find anything on the dropshipping sites that met the criteria mentioned in the course. All the products I was interested in were being sold cheaper on eBay than I could buy them for from dropshippers.

So, my question is does anyone here make money with dropshipping?

I got a refund on the course in the end!

Sandy

Hi,

Yes, I do make money from dropshipping. You need to partner with good sites where products aren't being sold cheaper on eBay, either because dropshipper enforces MAP pricing or that you have to look for quality products where the ebay sellers won't have access to prices lower than what the dropshipper offers, and therefore cannot undercut you.

Also, don't forget there are other ways (not just price) to offer value.

Finding good dropship partners is the difficult task. I'd suggest you send off emails to online stores in the niches that interest you and see if you can get them to dropship for you. I have found six dropship partners like this. I am currently in the process of starting several stores. I already had one dropship store from a few years ago but only recently decided to try and get into this business in a more serious way.

I'd suggest you send off emails to online stores in the niches that interest you and see if you can get them to dropship for you. I have found six dropship partners like this. I am currently in the process of starting several stores. I already had one dropship store from a few years ago but only recently decided to try and get into this business in a more serious way.

What directory or technique do you recommend that we use to find these drop shippers?

We rarely use directories for anything other than brainstorming niche ideas. If you're a member of one, you may as well check it when you start a new store, but going direct to the manufacturer (and their distributors) is almost always the route you'll want to go to source products.

Importing direct from China is another good alternative, but the factories generally want you to buy in bulk. So this isn't typically your best option when you are just testing or getting into a new market. That's a better way to go once you are rolling and want to increase your margins.

We rarely use directories for anything other than brainstorming niche ideas. If you're a member of one, you may as well check it when you start a new store, but going direct to the manufacturer (and their distributors) is almost always the route you'll want to go to source products.

Importing direct from China is another good alternative, but the factories generally want you to buy in bulk. So this isn't typically your best option when you are just testing or getting into a new market. That's a better way to go once you are rolling and want to increase your margins.

Hi Dave,

Factories quote big MOQs in order to deter small fry and newbies. It is possible to negotiate small orders with the right approach. Unfortunately most people approach overseas factories the same way they approach local dropship suppliers. They say "I am starting....." and they present a business plan. One of the worst things is that they ask first up "What is your MOQ?"

People looking to buy direct from the factories should know that almost all suppliers listed as manufacturers on the popular sourcing platform are really traders.

After enjoying reading this whole thread, the thing that struck me was that you have to find the way that is going to be most comfortable and interesting for you. There's the old standard, affiliate marketing. There's taking possession of inventory and then selling on ebay and Amazon, which in my mind is like a brick and mortar store except your "shelves" are online. There's importing cheap from China and selling - I think this takes a little more effort as far as import/export licences, storage, etc, but it's a business model that has been in effect since the origin of the Silk Road. There is finding a manufacturer and/or distributor and reselling their products and of course you have to talk to their representatives and negotiate, like one guy says, or you talk to the representatives and find out if they have MAP and stick with that, like the other guy says.

Ultimately, it's like the difference between Walmart or Neiman Marcus - they both have their niche and seem to be doing quite well at it

I personally can't stand ebay. I don't want to get into the import model - I'm too old to read the fine print...lol. Affiliates don't get paid enough. As a newbie to drop shipping, I couldn't negotiate my way out of a paper bag. I like the MAP model and I can build my reputation with the distributor to eventually be a preferred seller. That's why I had signed up for alksense's course. (Kind of buried the lead there, didn't I)

However, all those other business models are equally valid and legitimate. If you find one that you like and that you're comfortable with, that's where you're going to ultimately make a satisfying life for yourself.

....... There's importing cheap from China and selling - I think this takes a little more effort as far as import/export licences, storage, etc, but it's a business model that has been in effect since the origin of the Silk Road. .........

I have only quoted the part you wrote about importing because although you have already made up your mind I would not like other readers to think importing is too complicated as you obviously do.

Importers NEVER need to even think about export licences, which are the concern of the exporters. Also importers do not need licences to import. There are such things as quotas on a small number of product categories, but these are simple to deal with because as I always advise, importers can leave it to others to handle that for them.

My former franchisees in my importing business did not need to learn the rules and regulations because I showed them how it can all be done automatically for them. For example if a shipment comes via the postal service, the post office does everything necessary and clears the shipment through Customs.

If you had consulted an importing expert you may have come to a different conclusion.

Storage can be dealt with very simply, either by:

Using an order fulfillment provider.

Renting a small storage unit. I know many small businesses operate out of such storage units.

Factories quote big MOQs in order to deter small fry and newbies. It is possible to negotiate small orders with the right approach. Unfortunately most people approach overseas factories the same way they approach local dropship suppliers. They say "I am starting....." and they present a business plan. One of the worst things is that they ask first up "What is your MOQ?"

People looking to buy direct from the factories should know that almost all suppliers listed as manufacturers on the popular sourcing platform are really traders.

Yes, I am well aware of this. In fact, we have a factory in China that dropships worldwide for one of our current ecommerce stores.

That said, we have found that it typically makes sense to find a dropship supplier in the same country you are marketing to for a new ecommerce store. The shipping costs from China are too high per individual items and Chinese factories typically cannot offer well known brand names (unless they are knock offs).

Importing from China certainly has its place in the whole scheme of things, but it's typically not our first stop!

Yes, I do make money from dropshipping. You need to partner with good sites where products aren't being sold cheaper on eBay, either because dropshipper enforces MAP pricing or that you have to look for quality products where the ebay sellers won't have access to prices lower than what the dropshipper offers, and therefore cannot undercut you.

Also, don't forget there are other ways (not just price) to offer value.

Finding good dropship partners is the difficult task. I'd suggest you send off emails to online stores in the niches that interest you and see if you can get them to dropship for you. I have found six dropship partners like this. I am currently in the process of starting several stores. I already had one dropship store from a few years ago but only recently decided to try and get into this business in a more serious way.

Its even better with digital products eg. Streaming Media or VoIP. I guess the main thing is then to sell on an exact match domain name and make the web site very very clean and crisp, sleek so any one can get on it and buy. Soon as one makes it complicated, its an extra step people have to guess and people generally have second thoughts about proceeding with the purchase. unless its something they really want. though it seems if people just want the product so if that's the case then you should look into a niche market that's easy. At least to get started.

Yep I am making money online with eCommerce and many people are. The industry is booming and is having a massive impact on retail stores/malls throughout the world.

As mentioned above you really just need to find great suppliers to work with. If you already have a product or niche in mind then the best way to get started is to send an email inquiry to them and follow up with a phone call.

If you're having trouble finding suppliers they can generally be found with a bit of research:
- Manufactures or brands will often list exclusive distributors for the countries they sell to
- Try searching Google for keywords like '<product> manufacturer' or anything like that
- Look what other drop ship eCommerce stores are selling on their site and try to trace their products back to the supplier with Google

Yep I am making money online with eCommerce and many people are. The industry is booming and is having a massive impact on retail stores/malls throughout the world.

As mentioned above you really just need to find great suppliers to work with. If you already have a product or niche in mind then the best way to get started is to send an email inquiry to them and follow up with a phone call.

If you're having trouble finding suppliers they can generally be found with a bit of research:
- Manufactures or brands will often list exclusive distributors for the countries they sell to
- Try searching Google for keywords like '<product> manufacturer' or anything like that
- Look what other drop ship eCommerce stores are selling on their site and try to trace their products back to the supplier with Google

Hope that helps!

Yes, thanks Pavv. I am tempted to buy your WSO but its not about selling on eBay or Amazon is it? I have read that so many stores fail because the owners can't get enough traffic to them.

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

A few more things to remember. Never pay a membership fee to see a dropshippers inventory. Those types (Doba for example) are always a scam. Always make sure that a dropshipper has physical inventory. Avoid "affiliate" dropshippers because you don't need yet another middleman in the process. Only deal with companies that have wholesale inventory or those that make their own products.

No, and there really shouldn't be. Otherwise you're competing against everyone who is wanting to 'dropship just for the sake of the easiness of it' and not for the profit margin. These are people who dabble in the prospecting, and quit after a week or two, or at least until they get their first invoice.

For the reasons outlined in my reply to Sandy. Markets get saturated, and dropshippers go out of business because of pressure on pricing.

That is why dropshippers intentionally inflate their prices and only deal with people who have histories in the business... And there are ways of gaining that history.

But, there are also ways of finding suppliers and NEGOTIATING specific prices based on historical selling prices less deductions that you pitch to dropshippers.

I've been practicing and teaching this way too long and have seen this mistake time and time again.

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

I recently bought a course about making money online by selling stuff on UK eBay and Amazon UK with dropshipping.

After spending hours researching I could not find anything on the dropshipping sites that met the criteria mentioned in the course. All the products I was interested in were being sold cheaper on eBay than I could buy them for from dropshippers.

So, my question is does anyone here make money with dropshipping?

I got a refund on the course in the end!

Sandy

Hi Sandy,

I only do business in the US and I stopped selling on eBay years ago but my advice would be to ONLY work with drop ship suppliers who enforce MAP policies.

I've owned eCommerce stores for the past seven years. I started off directly importing from China but switched to working with drop ship suppliers about five years ago.

I've learned A LOT over time but the main thing is that to really be successful you need to work with suppliers who enforce pricing policies.

If you don't know, MAP stands for Minimum Advertised Price. If you work with a supplier who enforces a MAP policy it means that NO OTHER RETAILER can sell the same item for less then you.

With all of the shopping comparison engines out there (including Google) I don't see how anyone can be successful selling the SAME EXACT ITEMS for more money then Amazon or any other large eCommerce store.

MAP is there to level the playing field. Suppliers put these policies in place to protect their brands and to protect their retailers profit margins.

I hope that helps and I hope you are able to find suppliers in the UK who enforce MAP policies

Thanks,
Anton

PS: I should also add that I HIGHLY recommend against using paid drop ship services who show you what MSRP is and what your profit margin *can be*.

MSRP is not the same as MAP and there are A LOT of retailers out there that are fine with making ~5% net per sale who are basically giving these items away. And again, I don't see how anyone can make money selling the SAME EXACT item for more then competition, especially when the competition is so easy to find with Google Shopping's new "in your face" approach.

On eBay, nothing ever sells for MSRP. Ever. Never happened once, never will happen in the future. eBay isn't a retail establishment.

Many dropshippers will lure you in with an MSRP saying "This item will sell for THIS MUCH (because it's the MSRP) but in reality--- items really sell for a MARKET WORTH... not the MSRP.

Quite comical when I call dropshippers out on it.

The other thing - about MAP pricing. It's RARE (not impossible) that items will sell for MAP pricing on eBay as well. Very rare.

Not only THAT - but dropshippers DON'T enforce MAP pricing on eBay to level the playing field for the retailers. They enforce MAP pricing on eBay because THEY ARE SELLING ON eBAY! It's a profitable outlet for them! They want that avenue for themselves! If they were competing with others, then they would lose out on their sales.

"But they're still making sales, you say?" No, they are losing money because they are still selling at wholesale cost - not retail cost. AND, if they were competing in that environment with other retailers - pressure to lower pricing (to meet the price they are selling it for) would be great enough to eventually prevent them from selling that item all together.... OR, if it got bad enough, it will keep them out of business all together. (Exactly what happened in the early 2000's with a lot of dropshippers before the 'charge of membership fees' fiasco)

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

Not only THAT - but dropshippers DON'T enforce MAP pricing on eBay to level the playing field for the retailers. They enforce MAP pricing on eBay because THEY ARE SELLING ON eBAY! It's a profitable outlet for them! They want that avenue for themselves! If they were competing with others, then they would lose out on their sales.

I guess every niche is different but no suppliers I work with sell directly on eBay or directly through any other sales channel (and I work with hundreds of suppliers in many different niches).

The types of suppliers I use are brands who handle the manufacturing and distribution but who rely on retailers (like myself and hundreds of other companies) to bring them their sales.

I guess it all comes down to how you go about finding your suppliers but I know I certainly wouldn't want to be in direct competition with the supplier who I was trying to sell for. It should be a partnership, not a competition.

I'm toying with the idea of e-commence or dropshipping. I have been looking at dropshipping for a while but still wary about who to trust on delivery, e-commence I don't know much about so not quite sure where to go from here really

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

I sell some products by drop ship--but I also drop ship my own creations. My secret is to visit the trade mart shows that cater to my specific market. In every product you can imagine, there is most likely a trade show somewhere that has vendor booths for suppliers and manufacturers. Meet with the vendors, ask if they drop ship. With the economy today, I have seen several who said no a few shows ago but have rethought the idea. Some who require a minimum order will take an order for a smaller number of units with a small surcharge once you have established a relationship. Beats carrying heavy inventory or when you need a couple of items in a pinch.
Get to know the booth workers. They will give you some advice and some will even recommend others who may be able to help you.
Again, research your product's area of access---to sell baby strollers, go to the ABC convention, to sell home products, go to the Trade Marts (major cities) like our AtlantasMart. Forget about the online "dropshippers directories"--the only way they make money is stringing you along and charging a fee. Do an online search of wholesale/drop ship + (your product line) and check individual companies who will light wholesale or drop ship for you.

One great resource for finding vendors in your area (and even by category and by industry) is TSNN.com

You can see tradeshows in your area and by date.

When you attend these tradeshows you have potential vendors by the HUNDREDS that you can meet and greet and gather pricelists from.

From the piles that you gather you can then do your market analysis from there.

And then arm yourself for your price negotiations.

The great thing about having a face-to-face is that you can set up exclusivity if you're the first one there. Trade shows are great places for people wanting to get their product out in the public, and they might not even have an online presence yet.

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

You don't let dropshippers/suppliers tell you what to do: YOU make the rules/pricing

You have to make DATA based decisions - because if you're going about it cold - you can lose out on a lot of money. You need to know market worths, deductions, profit margins, etc. Otherwise, you're in trouble.

Many times people are attracted to the convenience - but with razor-thin margins, you sacrifice profitability.

You really, really, need to know what you're doing - or have a mentor that KNOWS what they're doing.

The cost can be too high. (Both in monetary cost and opportunity cost)

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

Thank you for your sound advice. Is there any course about drop shipping out there that fits a newbie like me? I had been through a lot of financial stress because of health issues. I thank God. I' m back to life and would like to build up my savings.I'm a Sped teacher_ that's my day job but I would like to venture on selling on line, too.

Thank you for your sound advice. Is there any course about drop shipping out there that fits a newbie like me? I had been through a lot of financial stress because of health issues. I thank God. I' m back to life and would like to build up my savings.I'm a Sped teacher_ that's my day job but I would like to venture on selling on line, too.

I wish someone would answer this too. Trouble is any Ive looked at cost heaps.

AuctionDebtEliminator has a great ebook. Most everyone else posts their income and sales reports which are nearly useless without knowing the price YOU negotiate with the supplier. He also has a good niche finding tool for eBay. ADE has a great tool to use to determine the price you need to earn a profit.

To auctiondebteliminator who said:
"You don't let dropshippers/suppliers tell you what to do: YOU make the rules/pricing"

I don't want to start a debate but that's just silly---you are NOT in charge of the drop shippers pricing or rules. If you are told not to sell below retail price, and you try, you won't get any products shipped. You can negotiate all you want but that does not mean you control the "rules or pricing". The wholesaler is doing you a favor to accept drop shipping---they are more interested in selling multiple units wholesale.
The control you do have if a drop shipper does not allow for decent profit margins is to move to another drop shipper, buy in light bulk, produce the product yourself or find a different product to sell. Those are your alternatives.

If a supplier isn't willing to negotiate their pricing to accommodate the ACTUAL market worth of their item to generate a profit -- I move on. There is no reason to utilize a supplier that will not make you a profit.

Hence, retailers make the rules -- utilizing market data, of course. I never approach a supplier without this data, because if a supplier doesn't use empirical data based on economic principles and research to run their operations, they won't be in business very long.

So if a dropshipper is dead-set on 'making the rules on pricing' - I'll go ahead and let them go out of business themselves. Just like the huge 'bubble burst' of the early 2000's when a whole ton of them did when they practiced that idea.

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What I took out of this post, and correct me if I am wrong- is that with MAP, I wouldnt have to worry about negotiating a price, correct? The price is the same everywhere. Just making sure I am getting this right.

What I took out of this post, and correct me if I am wrong- is that with MAP, I wouldnt have to worry about negotiating a price, correct? The price is the same everywhere. Just making sure I am getting this right.

That's correct if you are selling for brands who have MAP policies.

There are tens of thousands of suppliers who's products are sold online and in stores who have all of their retailers adhere to MAP pricing, no matter how much you would like to negotiate.

This is why you see so many situations where small stores have to same exact prices as amazon, wayfair, hayneedle and other online GIANTS. These are the types of suppliers with whom I work with.

The set their MAP policies to protect their brands value and not have retailers cheapen it by listing their items at low prices. That's the whole point of MAP and it does not change from retailer from retailer. I've been doing this for seven years and I have never once came across a situation where MAP was negotiable. That would completely negate the point of the policy.

Some suppliers I have worked with let you sell below MAP but only if you do not list their brand name. This way their brands value isn't lessened, and suppliers who are OK with making less of a profit can do so. Basically, if you want to sell their products "genetically" they can care less what you sell them for.

Once you start working with these suppliers you can start asking about discounts most brands who drop ship (like the ones I work with) give kickbacks based on your monthly sales volume once you get up to around $10k wholesale cost. You can usually view these policies in the dealer sections of the suppliers websites.

So basically if you stick with legitimate brands who enforce MAP you do not/can not negotiate that price UNLESS you don't want to list there brand name/product name/sku numbers.

Hope that helps!
-Anton

PS: I know this post is almost exactly the opposite of what the person above me posted but I'm not here to argue with anyone. I'm just sharing my sevens years of expierence with everyone

There are tens of thousands of suppliers who's products are sold online and in stores who have all of their retailers adhere to MAP pricing, no matter how much you would like to negotiate.

This is why you see so many situations where small stores have to same exact prices as amazon, wayfair, hayneedle and other online GIANTS. These are the types of suppliers with whom I work with.

The set their MAP policies to protect their brands value and not have retailers cheapen it by listing their items at low prices. That's the whole point of MAP and it does not change from retailer from retailer. I've been doing this for seven years and I have never once came across a situation where MAP was negotiable. That would completely negate the point of the policy.

Some suppliers I have worked with let you sell below MAP but only if you do not list their brand name. This way their brands value isn't lessened, and suppliers who are OK with making less of a profit can do so. Basically, if you want to sell their products "genetically" they can care less what you sell them for.

Once you start working with these suppliers you can start asking about discounts most brands who drop ship (like the ones I work with) give kickbacks based on your monthly sales volume once you get up to around $10k wholesale cost. You can usually view these policies in the dealer sections of the suppliers websites.

So basically if you stick with legitimate brands who enforce MAP you do not/can not negotiate that price UNLESS you don't want to list there brand name/product name/sku numbers.

Hope that helps!
-Anton

PS: I know this post is almost exactly the opposite of what the person above me posted but I'm not here to argue with anyone. I'm just sharing my sevens years of expierence with everyone

It's true that I am going to starkly disagree with this post, and it is purely a professional discourse - no offense taken or implied.

Additionally, years of experience can also be cited by both parties.

One thing I'd like to add to this conversation, and why I disagree and approach MAP and suppliers differently is history.

In the early days of the internet, especially in the early days of ecommerce, warehouses and suppliers (even dropshippers) were popping up everywhere wanting to cash-in on the new channel of capital.

They were signing up EVERYONE that came up to them telling them 'I have a website and want to sell your products'.

Suppliers LOVED this. They were making sales in this new channel and profits were great.

Welcome to the '.com Boom'!

But then something happened -- the growth curve didn't line up with their sign ups. It had actually plateaued -- at first. And their retailers weren't happy. They weren't happy with all of the COMPETITION that came to be.

Turns out 'everyone was selling items -- but no one was selling items'.

And the RETAILERS (before the markets) demanded that the prices of the products go lower, and lower and lower because the retailer competition was fierce...

Eventually - the supplier needed to discontinue a product here, and a product there, because those weren't profitable.

Eventually, the supplier went out of business because this happened with ALL of their products in their line.

Welcome to the '.com BUBBLE BURST' of the early 2000's.

So the remaining, surviving suppliers did something (that remains unpopular today) -- the started charging membership fees to 'weed out' those 'online retailers' that are looking to just get in the game and are brand new.

They more than likely won't make any sales -- but at least they will cash in on some member ship fees!

But the SMARTER suppliers do something else. (And these are the ones I like to look at)

They INTENTIONALLY INFLATE THEIR PRICES Or, they instigate something bogus called a 'MAP' price.

This has the same purpose of a 'membership fee' (to weed out the newbies)

But, they also have a LOT of 'wiggle room' in their pricing since the 'wholesale prices ARE negotiable'

Have you ever gone to supplier and all they had were products and NO pricing? This is because they don't want OTHER retailers to see what their OTHER retailers get for those products.

Of course pricing is negotiable based on the MARKET WORTH of the item LESS DEDUCTIONS.

Now, MAP pricing isn't used to 'protect a brand' or to 'keep the market from being saturated'. Because a supplier still has a say in whom they sign up-- Markets have ALWAYS had control over pricing. Either people buy the item at that price -- or they don't. MAP/MSRP prices be dam*ed.

If you go to a supplier, demonstrating an UNDERSTANDING of the markets - and then pitch them pricing BASED on the markets -- then they are a LOT more apt to work with you than if you approached them with this:

"Hey, I'm looking to learn how to build a website selling your products"

They tried that. It put them out of business---and it caused a huge nation-wide recession.

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They are for 'beginners' and who haven't approached a supplier with an understanding of the market worth of the item.

Basically, the people that have MAP prices assigned to them are lining the filing cabinets of the supplier (and haven't processed a sale at all)

The people REALLY competitive in the niche (product sales) from the supplier have approached the supplier with actual costs to acquire-- competitive to the market worth of the item and they came to the supplier with data where they KNEW they could be competitive.

The supplier knew that person knew they weren't just 'some person just signing up for the sake of signing up' and was more willing to work with them because they knew they were going to bring them more business.

(Much like a CPA network only allows the 'real affiliate marketers' into their networks)

In a nutshell --- You can - and should negotiate lower prices from a supplier and throw out all MAP and MSRP prices.

The actual cost to acquire you pay should be based on the MARKET WORTH of your item minus deductions.

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When it comes to opinions to each, their own. We've obviously had VERY different expierences when it comes to selling online. I just find it odd that cometely disagree that brands enforce MAP to protect their brands.

I'm not going to release any info about the brands I sell for or the niches I'm involved with but I'll give a generic example of exatcly why brands do enforce MAP to protect their brands....

Michael Kohrs bags are sold in almost every department store across the country and sold in thousands of Indepedendant retail shops.

When they release a new line of bags they do not negotiate with each retailer (big or small) and agree on different MAP policies for each retailer.

They set pricing (MAP) and every store (big and small) has to tag the items at the same price. Retailers can't just say "we sell other bags for $100 so we want to sell these at the same price". The brand has a "higher end" image to protect and THEY set market price for their brand.

The same is true with all of the suppliers that I work with who enforce MAP. Of course, retailers can offer coupons BUT they can not list the items for sale at prices other than those set by the supplier.

The brand (supplier) sets a fixed market price and all retailers have to adhere to the same. If they didn't enforce such policies their brands value would disappear overnight and no one would want to sell for them because only those willing to make the smallest profit margins would get the sale.

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(He wasn't doing eBay, but building an website) and we were talking about this very concept.

He had a number of keywords that he had researched that had great demand and manageable competition and also a sizable pile of pricelists as well.

When we were going through the pricelists, I was teaching him how to find the market worth of the items.

We quickly found that the MAP pricing was a full FORTY PERCENT HIGHER than what his competitors were selling it for. Even without his markup!

And this was after negotiation attempts were made.

Even after this, I told him this was a GOOD sign... why? Because if he was to build a site - blindly accepting the MAP price, he would have never sold a single item.. It is better to analyze the market and decide that a supplier ISN'T going to work, then to build a site (or eBay store for that matter) and wonder why you have no conversions.

All data is good data. And take everything a supplier tells you with a grain of salt.

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But then you need take the market into the equation -- which is the more powerful force. (and always has been)

Items only sell for prices people are WILLING to buy them for.

And if a supplier 'sets' a price for an item - but the market doesn't value that item for that price -- then NO one sells it..

Right, and brands (suppliers) set prices that people are willing to pay or else they go out of business like many start ups have in the past.

The brands who I want to sell for are the ones that know their markets and instantly add value to any niche specific product by putting their name on it.

I'll go back to my example from earlier in this thread - you can say the market value of a genuine leather handbag is $50 (just throwing out a number) BUT the market value of "Michael Kors 'Charlton' Crossbody Bag" is $138, why? Because the supplier says so. That's why when you search for it on Google Shopping you will see almost everyone selling it (new) at $138 and if not the price will be raised BUT it can be less then $138 because that is what they set MAP at.

This is why the brand (supplier) can ultimately set the pricing. People are willing to pay for quality and certain brand names (even ones that are only known only to small niche communities) come with higher price tags then generic products.

This is where I think the disconnect is between the way we see MAP.

You see it as what the market says a generic item is worth, I see it as what quality brands (suppliers) set their pricing and enforce all of the suppliers to adhere to.

You don't have to look hard to see what I'm talking about.

Google almost any large brand name (outside of electronics) on Google Shopping then narrow results to a specific product and you will see that stores all have the same price listed. It's not a coincidence. It's because brands (non generic) set pricing (MAP) and their retailers have to sell at that price.

Of course, if you are selling generic items (ie; wooden baseball bat, black suitcase, metal bar stool) without brand names attached to them then MAP is irrelevant, as it should be.

Please know I'm not trying to prove you wrong here. I'm just want people to see why there are A LOT of quality suppliers out there who do enforce MAP polices and why established brands DO set their pricing and do not negotiate with their retailers on the front end pricing.

I'm sure what you say is true and there are suppliers without price policies who you can negotiate the front end price with - these are NOT true MAP suppliers though.

If we can get away from MAP pricing for a moment and understand the true nature of the question posed---does anyone make money drop shipping?

The answer is Yes or no one would be doing it. The margins are greater than affiliate programs with the tradeoff being a bit more involvement with the customer. You also have more responsibility for providing up to date information such as inventory of the supplier.

Having said that, a retailer who depends solely on drop shipping depends entirely on the suppliers for product, delivery and customer service (YOU being their customer). Diversification can ease that restriction of dependence.

Light bulk wholesale IS negotiable. For instance, I found a new supplier and wanting to make an initial buy. They require a minimum order of $250, which is more inventory than I want to invest at first. For a small fee added to the order, I got a sampling of the product for $35 (product was at the wholesale price). Some vendors will fill an order I need in a pinch that is under the minimum with say a $10 or even $5 "under minimum" fee. This allows me to carry 2-6 pieces of an item on my shelf I can ship in 24 hrs. We even capitalize on the fact that 24 hr. shipping on that item is available. My profit margin is always larger, even more when I buy fast selling items in bulk.

Drop shipping allows me to be more hands free. That is the beauty and the draw of the process. The more someone else does the handling, shipping and stocking of inventory the more you will pay for that service at the expense of some profit. It is what you do with the time that "hands free" gives you that makes the difference in making money.

Basically, the further down the 'food chain' the higher the profits-- but generally, the larger quantities you buy upfront.

Yes, you can make money with dropshipping, but the more cutthroat and competitive is. (As you can see with our negotiation discussions!) That is why I don't dropship unless I CAN negotiate with a supplier where I KNOW I can compete better.

Otherwise, I'm not interested in being just another fish, in a giant school, within a big ocean.

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Why would you Drop ship when you can import and have full control over your inventory.

It doesn't make sense. When you drop ship you are limiting and your business.

Your business is at the mercy of drop ship merchants.

They dictate the price or profit you make per item based on what the market is paying.

When you get it from the horses mouth you making the most profit possible from the
get go.

Plus then you can muscle out sellers you know are drop shipping because you can afford to
drop you price. They can't because there's not enough profit in it because they're getting
it from a middle man.

You can screw the drop ship sellers into the ground and force them out. Yes it's a doggy dog world out there.

I have to disagree with you todawg.......Having my money tied up in inventory on the shelf (regardless of the lower wholesale price--it ain't THAT much different) and then having my time tied up packing and shipping each sale is NOT my idea of time well spent. If my business were truly huge enough to hire the fulfillment then, yeah, I would buy wholesale because my cash flow and turnover makes it worthwhile. I buy light bulk when I can or have to---and for my OWN wholesale offering for drop ship---but drop shipping makes it possible for me to have MORE products to sell. And my margins are better than 50% because I price them that way.

I have to disagree with you todawg.......Having my money tied up in inventory on the shelf (regardless of the lower wholesale price--it ain't THAT much different) and then having my time tied up packing and shipping each sale is NOT my idea of time well spent. If my business were truly huge enough to hire the fulfillment then, yeah, I would buy wholesale because my cash flow and turnover makes it worthwhile. I buy light bulk when I can or have to---and for my OWN wholesale offering for drop ship---but drop shipping makes it possible for me to have MORE products to sell. And my margins are better than 50% because I price them that way.

It's here that I ask many of my students that insist on doing dropshipping:

Would you rather process 100 orders making you 10 dollars a sale taking you 2 hours to do. (And then paying each invoice for accounting purposes via Paypal for those 100 orders individually taking equally long or longer - because you CANNOT pay them in bulk unless you want a MESS on your hands when there is a mistake with an order)

Or do you want to 'pack up and ship' 3 items and have the postman come to your home and pick them up taking you all but 10 minutes?

It's a misnomer to think that because you're not shipping the items that your time is better spent.

Many times with the lower profit margins (because of the higher competition) Your VOLUME needs to be much higher, your processing times are also much higher -- and your accounting times are through the roof.

And, if you're just starting out, and your volume isn't astronomical you cannot hire someone to do this with such low margins - and some processing sofware out there doesn't do the capabilities and cross-checks you need. And at the end of the year -- if you don't do it and hire an accountant for tax purposes, your costs of labor for them are going to decimate your profits anyway.

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

Drop shipping is like selling any other product, although if you have a massive competition then you will be fighting a losing battle. ID say find a product with a smaller amount of competition and then find a way to get the items as cheap as your (limited) competition. This may take a few months of selling items at a small profit margin but will be worth it once your supplier drops your prices.

i can feel you can.
i am chinese, i know many chinese traditional factory , they don't know english,they dont know e-commerce, and few can control amozon,so we often do business with alibaba,or made in china and some BTB web.many college can help this traditional factory to sell for us now.for me, i learn seo,so i help them to sell.in china, to much factory the same this.my english is so poor,but i can help them.because i know the route.

by the way,if you want to do business with china ,i can help you.of course, i hope i can make friends with you .sincerely.
thank you.

114.000 pcs of silver jewelry physically in stock. Diamond jewelry also available (in stock).
We are direct producer. We dropship worldwide. Details of our affiliate, dropship and wholesale program find here.

1. There is possibility to hire accountant for fixed costs here in Europe. As our tax laws are 100x more messy then yours (USA), I am sure that there is possibility to pay few bucks to accountant in USA too

2. In no way you are able to pack "3 items", print invoice, put it into package, close package, tape package, print address sticker, call postman and give him the package within 10 minutes. We are sending thousands packages, everything is fully automated (15 different printers automatically spitting all documents) and even when I am standing behing the employee with whip, they are not able to fully finish package within 10 workminutes.

3. Consider also stock costs: We are working with multimillion (€) stock - over 140.000 pcs of jewelry physically in stock - how many of beginners in business can invest so much into stock to have so huge offer in their eshop? Moreover, for small businesses in our niche, there is sometimes as much as 60-70% of unsellable inventory after few years - many many companies go bankrupt because of this (due to cashflow problems).
We are big - what we do not sell in US, we sell to Russia. Bad selling in Russia - we go to Sweden or Kazakhstan, China or whatever.

and many more examples...

So it is not so easy to say: "dropshipping is bad - make wholesale". It depends on situation. Many of our partners are doing annually $50K+ on dropshipping - probably nice money considering you do not have to mess with goods handling.

114.000 pcs of silver jewelry physically in stock. Diamond jewelry also available (in stock).
We are direct producer. We dropship worldwide. Details of our affiliate, dropship and wholesale program find here.

hey, I am not the most experienced guy here, but I can tell you that there is a guy named alksense here on warrior forum and he showed me what I think would be the best way to find drop shippers... if you look him up then you can find his wso... I think its four hour millionaires(don't quote me on that) I know that it's something like that... but you could pick a niche and then just find an ecommerce store already selling what you are trying to sell... then go to their site and find brands... and you just contact the brands as they are the ones drop shipping for them... hope this helps... I also hear that is a good product if you wanna check it out... I think its only about 27 bucks(again...don't quote me on that)

1. There is possibility to hire accountant for fixed costs here in Europe. As our tax laws are 100x more messy then yours (USA), I am sure that there is possibility to pay few bucks to accountant in USA too

2. In no way you are able to pack "3 items", print invoice, put it into package, close package, tape package, print address sticker, call postman and give him the package within 10 minutes. We are sending thousands packages, everything is fully automated (15 different printers automatically spitting all documents) and even when I am standing behing the employee with whip, they are not able to fully finish package within 10 workminutes.

3. Consider also stock costs: We are working with multimillion (€) stock - over 140.000 pcs of jewelry physically in stock - how many of beginners in business can invest so much into stock to have so huge offer in their eshop? Moreover, for small businesses in our niche, there is sometimes as much as 60-70% of unsellable inventory after few years - many many companies go bankrupt because of this (due to cashflow problems).
We are big - what we do not sell in US, we sell to Russia. Bad selling in Russia - we go to Sweden or Kazakhstan, China or whatever.

and many more examples...

So it is not so easy to say: "dropshipping is bad - make wholesale". It depends on situation. Many of our partners are doing annually $50K+ on dropshipping - probably nice money considering you do not have to mess with goods handling.

You'd be 100 percent right --- if I was was talking about wholesaling.

Which I'm not.

The ways to source products are not limited to dropshipping and wholesaling. In fact, the only venues to selling are not limited to self-built websites.

I teach methods to find higher profit items to sell, with less volume, and if it means packing up an items and shipping it out to save the hours of processing?

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

You'd be 100 percent right --- if I was was talking about wholesaling.
Which I'm not.

Sir, with full respect: Can you be less mysterious and tell me at least name of this new, genius sales technique? I am quite old business dog, never heard about it, but I am happy to learn new things (no offense)

114.000 pcs of silver jewelry physically in stock. Diamond jewelry also available (in stock).
We are direct producer. We dropship worldwide. Details of our affiliate, dropship and wholesale program find here.

I just started dropshipping a month ago and my first month I made $1500 in sales (about 30% net profit) after paying all fees. Not much, I know, but it's definitely a huge learning curve as I experiment with different marketing and advertising campaigns. The downsides to dropshipping are you MUST find a good supplier who is willing to hit your target price, but with some aggressive internet research, they can be found. Spend a lot of time doing market research on your products, pricing, competitors, as well as evaluating suppliers. Are they willing to negotiate? How is their shipping time? Is their quality of product up to your standards? Do they have good reviews online? What is their refund policy? Good customer service? The last thing you want is to make sales, but have a ton of problems in the back end.

First step would be to narrow it down to the type of product you want to sell. Most people suggest staying away from oversaturated markets in order to avoid so much competition, but if it's a market/product you truly believe will do great in terms of sales as well as margin wise, then just do it, but make sure to have a great value proposition. When I first started my adult store online, I knew there was a TON of competition, but I figured my value proposition was 1) offering free ground shipping (again, you need to have good pricing in the first place to be able to do this) 2) building a site that has a clean layout and design (unlike most of my competitors).

Famous for my '$1000 dollar challenge,' I've been teaching people how to DOMINATE on eBay for YEARS. Sell 100% of your items FOR A PROFIT. Rank higher, sell faster, sell more, and DESTROY your competition with a data-based approach. Quit listening to Guru's-in-training! Click now below!

Stay away from any place that is a dropship directory. You won't stand a chance of being competitive if you use them.

What we teach and what we have always done is first start with the manufacturer. More and more manufacturers are open to the concept of dropshipping now than ever before and if they aren't, they will often tell you who their large bulk buyers and distributors are if you ask. Those large buyers WILL dropship more often than not.

Is it profitable? Heck yes! We have built and sold more than 50 ecommerce dropship websites, selling a number of them for 6 figures. There is no end to the number of niches you can do this with. You can repeat the process over and over again once you know how to do it!

Yes, you can make a lot of money dropshipping, but you need to use the right tools, and avoid the dead ends.

Mainly, you just have to offer low prices, and always keep you website updated to accurately reflect product price base and quantities of your drop ship wholesaler, so you don't mistakenly sell an item that is actually out of stock there.

You also will need to market your products, and a good way to do this is with shopping comparison sites, you just send them your product feed.

I'm new to this whole drop shipping thing, and I was wondering how hard it is to open an account with distributors as an ebay seller? I noticed that most of these wholesale distributors require you to call them in order to open an account. The first question they ask is usually "tell me about your business." now although i have a legitimate business registered I am still at home trying to make money on ebay. will these distributors take me as a joke if i call them and tell them i'm an ebay seller?

I recently bought a course about making money online by selling stuff on UK eBay and Amazon UK with dropshipping.

After spending hours researching I could not find anything on the dropshipping sites that met the criteria mentioned in the course. All the products I was interested in were being sold cheaper on eBay than I could buy them for from dropshippers.

So, my question is does anyone here make money with dropshipping?

I got a refund on the course in the end!

Sandy

Hi Sandy,

Regarding MAP policies:

I see that you are in the UK. OK, so I conducted my importing business in 4 countries including the UK, so it has been necessary for me to know different rules relating to different countries.

MAP is illegal in the UK, and in fact in the entire EU, so you can forget everything that has been posted on this thread about relying on MAP to ensure profitability. There are some exceptions relating to franchises where a MAP policy is allowed.

I would prefer to sell my own physical products online than doing the drop shipper thing. According to me its risky.
I think it is important to talk directly with any people involved with supplying products that you intend to store and ship to customers. Ideally you will meet with the manufacturers face to face and get the products in your hands and have a tour of the factory.

I would prefer to sell my own physical products online than doing the drop shipper thing. According to me its risky.
I think it is important to talk directly with any people involved with supplying products that you intend to store and ship to customers. Ideally you will meet with the manufacturers face to face and get the products in your hands and have a tour of the factory.

I agree with you. Many people adopt the dropship model because they think it is the only way they can start a business with a small amount of capital.

It is possible to buy small quantities direct from manufacturers overseas if you go about it the right way.

When you say: "talk directly with any people involved with supplying products ..." and "Ideally you will meet with the manufacturers face to face", unfortunately for many people that is not possible, whether locally or overseas.

A good alternative if sourcing overseas is to contact only genuine manufacturers and take a slowly slowly approach in your communications with them. This will help you get a better idea of how they operate and it will give them more confidence about dealing with you.

There is a lot more to safe sourcing than that, but it is a long story. The point is that it can be done and the rewards can be great.

I'm new here. Well...not new...I've been lurking and reading Warrior Forum for a while, just never joined until now.

I've purchased and read several eBooks, programs, etc about dropshipping, wholesaling, etc. etc. and am beginning to feel like I'm floundering without a compass, and not really getting anywhere.

I really feel like I need some better guidance and direction on how to do this. I'm certainly not looking to become a gazillionaire overnight or even over the next few years, BUT I would like to at least be able to learn "how" to do this "the right way" and actually make a decent $300-$500 per month (after expenses) as an "initial goal". Like I said...this is not a "get-rich-quick" venture for me, I just want to learn the "real" ends-and-outs of making money online, and make a steady, gradually increasing income on the internet.

My preference is to sell physical goods from my own website(s), but I don't have alot of money to outlay for inventory - which is why I was looking into dropshipping.

Any advice, guidance, tips, or education from you guys would be greatly appreciated.

My preference is to sell physical goods from my own website(s), but I don't have alot of money to outlay for inventory - which is why I was looking into dropshipping.

Figure out what you want to sell first. Do your market research. Then contact the manufacturers, some will drop ship others my refer you to distributors. If the prices are too high, ask if you can get a better price. Start small until you get some experience.

I've had a ecommerce website online for 11 years, currently we dropship around 80%. Get started, make an effort to have a good relationship with your suppliers.

Selling drop shipped products online can be profitable if you do it correctly. I have been selling online for 10 years with drop shipping and selling on eBay, Amazon and other channels.

However I have heard a lot of people complain about not being able to compete in the marketplace and still make a profit due to the high prices of some third party drop shippers like Doba. The reason for this is that the drop shippers like Doba are playing the role of the middleman and have to increase the price so that they too can make a profit.

However I never ever use third party drop shippers like Doba for this reason. I go directly to the manufacturer which cuts out the middleman and gives me a competitive edge by getting the prices much lower than I would if I used third party sites like Doba.

However you will still sometimes find that the manufacturer does use a distributor to sell their products to retailers which means their will be a bit of a mark up of just a few dollars above wholesale as the distributor has to also make money but you will find in these rare instances the markup will not be as high as a third party site like Doba.

I currently have a database of over 10,000 manufacturers that I have worked with in the past or I'm currently working with that I have collected over the 10 years that I have been selling online.

If you don't want to stock and carry products on hand I would recommend that you go to the manufacturer directly as it will allow you to earn a higher profit and allow you to stay competitive.

Most manufacturers these days have a dropship program for their online retailers. However to go directly to the manufacturer you will need a resale certificate if your in the United States or a VAT number if your in another country. The other thing you will have to keep in mind is that you will now have to keep track of the inventory from each manufacturer. For mot manufacturers once you sell a few items they will allow you to link your shopping cart to theirs so that way your inventory is automatically updated. Other wise you have to check with each manufacturer on a monthly basis to make sure no products have been discontinued and inventory is available. I can't stress this enough as if you are carrying a product and its been discontinued and someone buys that product on your site you will find that product for the customer or you will have to give them a refund or a credit towards another item. During the holiday's this is extremely important. But if you are serious about ecommerce you can find it fun and profitable but you do need good time management skills if you don't have a team working for you.

In conclusion I would recommend everyone go directly to the manufacturers. In a few months I will be launching a membership site that gives people access to my database of 10,000 manufacturers and distributors plus it will cover channels to sell your products like Amazon, eBay and much much more. It gives traffic ideas for online retailers along with tools that will help make your business run that much smoother.

VAT and resale certificates when going to manufacturers: This information is not correct. VAT is charged in Europe only and resale certificates are in USA only - there are many countries outside those areas - where no VAT nor resale certificates exists.

Moreover, it depends solely on manufacturers whether they require resale certificates/VAT for dropshipping or not (for example - we are manufacturer and we do not require it for regular dropshipping - https://www.silver.ag/en/cooperation-with-silver-ag/ ) and we have many partners in Asian countries/Australia, Russia, CIS etc, where such and certificates even does not exists.

114.000 pcs of silver jewelry physically in stock. Diamond jewelry also available (in stock).
We are direct producer. We dropship worldwide. Details of our affiliate, dropship and wholesale program find here.

Igor your absolutely correct and I was already aware of that. I was only talking about the USA and Europe because that is where most of the people who sell products via drop shipping reside and yes not all manufacturers in the USA and Europe require a resale certificate or a VAT but a majority of them do I assure you. I didn't mention that there are some companies that don't require it as I didn't think it was really relevant since the manufacturer or distributor usually does a pretty good job at telling someone that when they inquire about selling their products and I was trying to keep it simple

Originally Posted by Igor Pauer

@NateYoung:

VAT and resale certificates when going to manufacturers: This information is not correct. VAT is charged in Europe only and resale certificates are in USA only - there are many countries outside those areas - where no VAT nor resale certificates exists.

Moreover, it depends solely on manufacturers whether they require resale certificates/VAT for dropshipping or not (for example - we are manufacturer and we do not require it for regular dropshipping - https://www.silver.ag/en/cooperation-with-silver-ag/ ) and we have many partners in Asian countries/Australia, Russia, CIS etc, where such and certificates even does not exists.

I did fall on dropshipping business (selling on ebay) few years ago when I had to stay at home due to high risk pregnancy. And for nearly a year, it did help pay my car and some bills in the house. I think it is a matter of choosing the right products with the right company as well. You don't want to ruin your credibility as an online seller, so make sure you choose the most reliable and compliant dropshipping company! Good luck.

I recently bought a course about making money online by selling stuff on UK eBay and Amazon UK with dropshipping.

After spending hours researching I could not find anything on the dropshipping sites that met the criteria mentioned in the course. All the products I was interested in were being sold cheaper on eBay than I could buy them for from dropshippers.

So, my question is does anyone here make money with dropshipping?

I got a refund on the course in the end!

Sandy

I am doing it right now. I am searching for low priced items on Amazon and selling them on Ebay. Amazon ships the product directly to the customer. I never need to layout any money.

To not confuse people. Most manufacturers and manufacturer approved distributors do require a resale certificate for USA based retailers. For European retailers you need a VAT number. Now to be clear If I'm a retailer in Europe buying products from a USA seller then a resale certificate is not required and nor is a VAT number because the USA does not use VAT. If I'm a USA retailer buying from a European manufacturer then I don't need a resale certificate or a VAT number. Now if I'm a USA retailer buying from a USA manufacturer you will have to have a resale certificate along with an EIN number or Employer Identification Number.

So Igor is not correct and hasn't done their research properly. Now it is true that there are some manufacturers in both the USA and Europe that don't require a Resale Certificate or a VAT number but those are usually third party distributors and already have the prices way above wholesale leaving the retailer with very small margins.

I have a resale certificate and an Employer Identification Number as I'm in the United States and I do some importing of European products but a majority of my suppliers are right here in the USA. I don't see why any United States retailer wouldn't want a resale certificate because it only costs the same as dinner night out if not less as each state and county has their own fees for obtaining a resale certificate. But the benefits are great as having both a resale certificate and an EIN under my business name allows me to get my products drop shipped at normal wholesale prices and not to mention I get to apply for Net 30 terms using my business credit rather than my own personal credit.

So Igor I'm not sure if you do your selling here in the United States or Europe or somewhere else but your absolutely incorrect. I told you that you were correct in my previous post as you did give a correct partial answer which was some manufacturers and distributors don't require either one depending on where that manufacturer is located but if there here in the United States they are required by federal law to obtain the resale certificate number for every retailer that carries their products regardless if its drop shipped or carried on hand.

The only downfall to going directly to the manufacturer is you might have to submit orders to each manufacturer if you have have 20 orders in a day and they are all from different products and they are not all manufactured by the same company. Then you will have to submit each order individually to the manufacturer. Beyond that its the only way to go.

Yes I've made lots of money by dropshipping.. Dropshipping is a great business if you do it well..I've started this kind of online business after my adsense account banned..But I did'nt do amazon or ebay..I became reseller of local supplier(online store) in my country..The key of success of doing dropshiping are :
1. Choose the right supplier
2. Choose good products(in term of quality and price)
3. Get traffic for your dropship site(urgent)

I personally don't sell items, I drop ship for others because I stand to make more moving more volume than benefiting from getting cheap items and selling them for msrp. I think it's not a bad idea to create your own product and then have others sell it and since you make it you can get it dirt cheap (like me )

I personally don't sell items, I drop ship for others because I stand to make more moving more volume than benefiting from getting cheap items and selling them for msrp. I think it's not a bad idea to create your own product and then have others sell it and since you make it you can get it dirt cheap (like me )

Congratulations Sweetcheeks, You have worked out where the real money is in dropshipping. It is not in reselling products supplied by a dropship supplier. The real money is made by being a dropship supplier.

Not everyone can create their own product, so how can they make money selling online?

So many posts say there is very little profit in being a dropship reseller. The best profit margin quoted in this thread is 30%. It is possible to double or treble that by buying a small inventory direct from real manufacturers overseas.

I am not an armchair expert. For 22 years until health enforced retirement I ran an importing business that I franchised in four countries. My franchisees would have rebelled and sued me if they ever made less than 60%, but they often made more.

Importers' markups would blow you away if you knew what they make and the good news for readers of this thread is that you don't need a lot of cash to get started as an importer..

Congratulations Sweetcheeks, You have worked out where the real money is in dropshipping. It is not in reselling products supplied by a dropship supplier. The real money is made by being a dropship supplier.

Not everyone can create their own product, so how can they make money selling online?

So many posts say there is very little profit in being a dropship reseller. The best profit margin quoted in this thread is 30%. It is possible to double or treble that by buying a small inventory direct from real manufacturers overseas.

I am not an armchair expert. For 22 years until health enforced retirement I ran an importing business that I franchised in four countries. My franchisees would have rebelled and sued me if they ever made less than 60%, but they often made more.

Importers' markups would blow you away if you knew what they make and the good news for readers of this thread is that you don't need a lot of cash to get started as an importer..

I agree, it can be tough to make money as a dropship reseller, although I've made good money doing it in the past. However, lately I've been making more by promoting a good drop shipping training course than actually drop shipping. If you do both at the same time, it really helps you to fund your projects and ramp up.

Agreed. But you don't buy from Aliexpress. You make direct contact with the factory and ask them the right questions. Try and understand their business. Do they maintain an inventory? What shipping options are available?

The key to make them think you are a legit business. If they think you can make them money, you won't get ripped off.....

Originally Posted by Importexport

Buying from Aliexpress may not be the way to make loads of money dropshipping.

Agreed. But you don't buy from Aliexpress. You make direct contact with the factory and ask them the right questions. Try and understand their business. Do they maintain an inventory? What shipping options are available?

The key to make them think you are a legit business. If they think you can make them money, you won't get ripped off.....

I recommend keeping well away from AliExpress. When a site allows suppliers in China to list big brand names that should always ring alarm bells.

There is a lot more to sourcing, ordering and importing than people will learn by reading forum posts.

For example the most commonly quoted freight term is FOB. According to international shippimg terminology, (INCOTERMS), FOB stands for free on board and it means that the supplier pays all costs to the shipping port as well as any costs involved in having the goods loaded on the vessel. Wider accepted usage now allows for "vessel" to include an aircraft.

What catches a lot of new importers out is that many Chinese suppliers use the term FOB incorrectly. They mean EXW which stands for Ex Works, and that means that all costs are the responsibility of the buyer once they are lifted off the loading dock at the factory.

The cost difference can be huge and can make the difference between what promised to be a very big profit and what turns out to be a very big loss.

I recommend that those who intend sourcing overseas and importing, even in small quantities should learn at least something about importing before they start. The problem is that many of the eBooks and online video courses I have seen are far too complicated and in my opinion are more suited to someone wanting to become a Customs Broker.

This topic is about dropshipping not importing. And it is possible to make money doing it, like KITE said, it's all in the marketing.

Originally Posted by Importexport

I recommend keeping well away from AliExpress. When a site allows suppliers in China to list big brand names that should always ring alarm bells.

There is a lot more to sourcing, ordering and importing than people will learn by reading forum posts.

For example the most commonly quoted freight term is FOB. According to international shippimg terminology, (INCOTERMS), FOB stands for free on board and it means that the supplier pays all costs to the shipping port as well as any costs involved in having the goods loaded on the vessel. Wider accepted usage now allows for "vessel" to include an aircraft.

What catches a lot of new importers out is that many Chinese suppliers use the term FOB incorrectly. They mean EXW which stands for Ex Works, and that means that all costs are the responsibility of the buyer once they are lifted off the loading dock at the factory.

The cost difference can be huge and can make the difference between what promised to be a very big profit and what turns out to be a very big loss.

I recommend that those who intend sourcing overseas and importing, even in small quantities should learn at least something about importing before they start. The problem is that many of the eBooks and online video courses I have seen are far too complicated and in my opinion are more suited to someone wanting to become a Customs Broker.

Your selling a product that teaches people how to import small orders from China. Your Bias......... Of course you will discourage people from dropshpping from China.

If people had the capital and time to start a (import, sell, ship) business. They probably wouldn't be asking about dropshipping. It's obvious that importing will provide the highest profit. But you could also be stuck with a product that doesn't sell. Not the case with dropshipping.

You make good points about the risk, but there are ways to minimize this.

Chinese factories are realizing the potential in drop-shipping these days, especially considering the current economy and currency value.

Another point I'd like to make. A middle man isn't necessarily a bad thing. Especially one that specializes in drop shipping and is willing to assist you in sourcing products, communicating directly with factories and arrange shipping.....

Originally Posted by Importexport

Do you mean that anyone who suggests a far more profitable way of making money in e-commerce should not be permitted to express their opinion on the subject?

Also, marketing is not the whole story. Profit also depends on buying right.

If people had the capital and time to start a (import, sell, ship) business. They probably wouldn't be asking about dropshipping. It's obvious that importing will provide the highest profit. But you could also be stuck with a product that doesn't sell. Not the case with dropshipping.

Capital required can be very small. I have had students successfully start up a profitable importing business with a few hundred dollars. It's a slow process but provided they have selected the right products to sell they can build it up to make a good income.

Any business requires time to set up and run, and importing is no more labor intensive than dropshipping.

Being stuck with a product that doesn't sell will only happen if a person fails to do their homework, but even then, margins are so high that the seller can discount by 50% and still make a profit better than many who dropship.

How I began, yes, I was dropshipping. I made some money doing it - and then I always wondered 'where does my supplier get these products?'

It then led me to a journey where I got larger, and larger margins.

I have been a dropshipper, a wholesaler, an importer, an affiliate, a manufacturer, etc.

I've truly done it all.

Yet through it all, people still ask me 'So, Auction Debt Eliminator, how do you dropship?'

I finally had to cave and create an eBook on it because the demand was so high - but my only hope will be that people will get the bug and always think: "But wait, where does my SOURCE get the item?" And work their way down to get bigger and BIGGER margins!

That is what a true entrepreneur does. It's what I did, and I cannot be happier.

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A good entrepreneur will think outside the box to gain larger profit margins by trying to figure out where suppliers get their products.

This is one of the questions a person who wants to get into selling products on eBay or their own store regardless if their buying product to carry on hand or are having it drop shipped. Due to the fact that most suppliers mark the product price up leaving you with less profit margins is exactly why I chose to go directly to the manufacturer.

Originally Posted by Auctiondebteliminator

It is very, very true.

How I began, yes, I was dropshipping. I made some money doing it - and then I always wondered 'where does my supplier get these products?'

It then led me to a journey where I got larger, and larger margins.

I have been a dropshipper, a wholesaler, an importer, an affiliate, a manufacturer, etc.

I've truly done it all.

Yet through it all, people still ask me 'So, Auction Debt Eliminator, how do you dropship?'

I finally had to cave and create an eBook on it because the demand was so high - but my only hope will be that people will get the bug and always think: "But wait, where does my SOURCE get the item?" And work their way down to get bigger and BIGGER margins!

That is what a true entrepreneur does. It's what I did, and I cannot be happier.

A good entrepreneur will think outside the box to gain larger profit margins by trying to figure out where suppliers get their products.

This is one of the questions a person who wants to get into selling products on eBay or their own store regardless if their buying product to carry on hand or are having it drop shipped. Due to the fact that most suppliers mark the product price up leaving you with less profit margins is exactly why I chose to go directly to the manufacturer.

A very wise move Nate. Buying direct from manufacturers will undoubtedly give you good profit margins way in excess of what you can achieve if you buy from dropship wholesalers, or any wholesalers for that matter.

Buying from local manufacturers is not as easy as buying from overseas manufacturers. I am not only talking about China, but there are many countries that have very competitive prices on products that will often exceed the quality you can buy from China. Has anyone recently bought in retail stores top quality goods at bargain prices? I have, and they were made in Western countries. I also know that you can buy top quality in China if you don't try to drive the manufacturers' prices down to unprofitable levels like the giant retailers do.

Overseas manufacturers will welcome you with open arms, and they don't require all the red tape expected by local ones. The trick is how to find them, and how to get them to supply small orders when they quote huge MOQs?

Well, first of all you avoid the hordes of suppliers on the popular B2B sourcing sites masquerading as manufacturers. Then using safe sourcing sites you find genuine manufacturers and start talking to them via email.

Provided you take the right approach it is usually not too difficult to get them to supply an order only 1/10 the size of their MOQ or even smaller.

I have dropshipped products and I also provide products to be dropshipped. Either way can be very profitable. To get established and start making money sooner rather than later start with dropshipping other peoples products.

I am working on a jewelry site right now and it is basically dropshipping as we speak. However, since it is close to where I work, I will be picking up the items.
Having said that, they will in no way allow you to set your own prices if you use their pictures.

Want to know the real reason dropshippers charge monthly fees? Because that is their real business model - not product sales. They know the "download - import to shopping cart - launch a site" model doesn't work. They make their money on everyone's membership fees, while simultaneously listing every product in their warehouse on Amazon and eBay for pennies over cost.

BUT ... you don't have to have the lowest price to win. In fact, none of the top 100 eCommerce sites on the web have the lowest prices - you can always find it cheaper on eBay or Amazon. eCommerce success is more about consumer engagement than pricing.

Want to know the real reason dropshippers charge monthly fees? Because that is their real business model - not product sales. They know the "download - import to shopping cart - launch a site" model doesn't work. They make their money on everyone's membership fees, while simultaneously listing every product in their warehouse on Amazon and eBay for pennies over cost.

BUT ... you don't have to have the lowest price to win. In fact, none of the top 100 eCommerce sites on the web have the lowest prices - you can always find it cheaper on eBay or Amazon. eCommerce success is more about consumer engagement than pricing.

I completely agree that you do not have to have the lowest prices to win, but it is nice to have a bigger than average profit margin up your sleeve. That is where buying a small inventory direct from the manufacturer in China can give you an unfair advantage.

I completely agree that you do not have to have the lowest prices to win, but it is nice to have a bigger than average profit margin up your sleeve. That is where buying a small inventory direct from the manufacturer in China can give you an unfair advantage.

If you have the ability to fulfill, sure, but I would say that strategy varies based on your margins. You have to account for your storage requirements and packing and shipping costs as well, so those with thin margins will struggle. The mistake most people make is in thinking they have to have the lowest price. You don't ... you just have to have a site that instills trust. The majority of buyers aren't price shoppers. They SAY they are, but they pull the trigger on the first item they make an emotional connection with.

Alksense has a program that goes into the Dropship strategies and a list of reputable suppliers, you can tell a lot of time went into it. New site owners need to understand loss leaders and upsell chains in order to win. I would suggest finding a supplier you CAN buy quantities from, but not actually DOING it yet until you know how much you can move. It's OK to sell items where you don't make any money in order to establish trust, build a customer base, and be in a position to estimate your volume. Then when it makes sense to stock some popular items, do it and pocket the savings.

If you have the ability to fulfill, sure, but I would say that strategy varies based on your margins. You have to account for your storage requirements and packing and shipping costs as well, so those with thin margins will struggle. The mistake most people make is in thinking they have to have the lowest price. You don't ... you just have to have a site that instills trust. The majority of buyers aren't price shoppers. They SAY they are, but they pull the trigger on the first item they make an emotional connection with.

Alksense has a program that goes into the Dropship strategies and a list of reputable suppliers, you can tell a lot of time went into it. New site owners need to understand loss leaders and upsell chains in order to win. I would suggest finding a supplier you CAN buy quantities from, but not actually DOING it yet until you know how much you can move. It's OK to sell items where you don't make any money in order to establish trust, build a customer base, and be in a position to estimate your volume. Then when it makes sense to stock some popular items, do it and pocket the savings.

Great points, Ron.

I typically do exactly what you're saying... establish accounts with as many suppliers as possible in a given niche and then track sales to see which products sell the best. I then negotiate prices with suppliers by purchasing inventory in advance (that they hold in their own warehouses) so I can earn more on each sale and to ensure that I have stock when I collect sales.

This is a great way to actually earn money while gaining the best market research available - actual sales data!!!

If you have the ability to fulfill, sure, but I would say that strategy varies based on your margins. You have to account for your storage requirements and packing and shipping costs as well, so those with thin margins will struggle.

There are some very efficient and economical fulfillment services available for those who want to import larger items or quantities that are inconvenient to handle from home.

The good thing about buying direct from genuine manufacturers is that the margins will not be thin. They will be more than enough to pay for fulfillment services if that is the way a seller wants to operate, and still leave margins that totally eclipse those available from dropshipping.

One warrior recently posted how he/she bought items in China for $1, spent another $1 on packaging and sold them for $25 each, that is a margin of about 80%, in other words, selling price = cost X 1250%. Dropshippers often post on the forum about profit margins 1/4 of that, sometimes a bit more, but nowhere close to 80%.

When running my importing business that I franchised in 4 countries and ran for 22 years before retirement, the minimum acceptable margin was landed cost X 250%, but it often went well above that. If I had not been able to teach my franchisees how to source small orders with at least that margin, they would have rebelled and sued me.

People stuck in the dropshipping rut can't imagine the massive profit margins they are missing out on.

I'll also add this ... the bulk of my clients income DOESN'T come from the products the person came to the site to find. It comes from the other stuff you upsell them later.

Here's what I mean ... if you're LOOKING for a product by name, you're price shopping and "trust shopping". Even if you make $0, you got the customer. Now you can re-engage them by promoting another upsell or accessory - one that they WEREN'T looking for. You present your offer, they either buy it or they don't, but the point is they aren't on a quest for a massive deal. They know your name, your brand, and they pull the trigger. Maybe they bought a Garmin GPS, and you happened to have the lowest price of the day. But when you email them an offer for a second cradle for their other car, or a charger, or other low-priced items where you have great margins, they aren't going to Google it and find the best price, they'll just buy it.

I'll also add this ... the bulk of my clients income DOESN'T come from the products the person came to the site to find. It comes from the other stuff you upsell them later.

Here's what I mean ... if you're LOOKING for a product by name, you're price shopping and "trust shopping". Even if you make $0, you got the customer. Now you can re-engage them by promoting another upsell or accessory - one that they WEREN'T looking for. You present your offer, they either buy it or they don't, but the point is they aren't on a quest for a massive deal. They know your name, your brand, and they pull the trigger. Maybe they bought a Garmin GPS, and you happened to have the lowest price of the day. But when you email them an offer for a second cradle for their other car, or a charger, or other low-priced items where you have great margins, they aren't going to Google it and find the best price, they'll just buy it.

Hi Ron,

I am absolutely in agreement with you in relation to pricing. When I first started my importing business I was selling B2B, and my biggest selling line in a particular niche sold at nearly double the price of the competitor who owned about 90% of the market.

My product quality far exceeded his and I quickly took a big slab of market share. The outcome was that customers, delighted with the service and quality began asking if I could supply other products. Within reason price did not enter into the equation, and I began building a much more diverse product line.

Thanks everyone for contributing to this post! I am just getting started with alksense's system and I'm very impressed with what I have read so far. I have been in B2B sales for a while now and after having a child and wife that is a chef and works crazy hours it would be great to work from home. Unfortunately my first business partner found a way to completely screw me and not only kick me off the board (family/friends bought majority shares) of directors but also insure our investors and my money was ties up in the company by taking a massive loan making shares to risky for investors. So I am at square one pinching pennies, stressed, and ready to get started drop shipping to build a new sustainable business that I alone control or with a trusted experienced partner. Yes there are people that make money drop shipping but also teaching people to drop ship, apparently. Thanks for all the info everyone and thanks alksense for the support I received so far and the training. I'm sure I'll see y'all on some beach somewhere soon!

Thanks everyone for contributing to this post! I am just getting started with alksense's system and I'm very impressed with what I have read so far. I have been in B2B sales for a while now and after having a child and wife that is a chef and works crazy hours it would be great to work from home. Unfortunately my first business partner found a way to completely screw me and not only kick me off the board (family/friends bought majority shares) of directors but also insure our investors and my money was ties up in the company by taking a massive loan making shares to risky for investors. So I am at square one pinching pennies, stressed, and ready to get started drop shipping to build a new sustainable business that I alone control or with a trusted experienced partner. Yes there are people that make money drop shipping but also teaching people to drop ship, apparently. Thanks for all the info everyone and thanks alksense for the support I received so far and the training. I'm sure I'll see y'all on some beach somewhere soon!

Awesome man, welcome aboard!

I'm glad you're loving the content

and you won't see me on the beach anytime soon.. I just touched down in Buenos Aires, Argentina!

I also tried to jump into the industry selling through drop shippers on eBay. I realized the same thing, there are a ton of the same product with lower prices. What I soon realized was that if I open up my own store, on my own domain, I can sell at comparable prices as eBay, and not have the fees associated with it. I have gone from drop-shipping 100% of my product, to only drop-shipping 50% and holding 50% on inventory. One good technique that helps is to sell in bulk. Instead of just selling 1 of an item, group them into groups of 5 or 10. This will not work if you are selling patio furniture, but it works good for smaller items with a low price. Cheers!!

@Igor Pauer; I see your silver jewelry shop in european market, so you are in the b2c channel. So when I will make money with dropship,I can not do it with you-then you are my competitor in the b2c market channel too.

@Igor Pauer; I see your silver jewelry shop in european market, so you are in the b2c channel. So when I will make money with dropship,I can not do it with you-then you are my competitor in the b2c market channel too.

@Igor Pauer; I see your silver jewelry shop in european market, so you are in the b2c channel. So when I will make money with dropship,I can not do it with you-then you are my competitor in the b2c market channel too.

Please correct me if I be wrong there..

best wishes
marco005

This is a major reason why it is so hard to make money with the dropshipping business model, but even those who don't compete with their own customers generally offer such low discounts that the resellers are really just cheap labor for them.

If you want massive profit margins you need to go direct to the manufacturers overseas. Here is what one of my students posted about buying prices:"He writes about how and why to contact the manufacturers directly, no dropshipping. I have contacted some manufacturers already (from links he supplies) and I am just shocked at the low prices they offer for products I am researching. Forget Alibaba, Global Resource, whatever."

There's no WRONG source for products. As long as your source is reliable and offers reasonable margins they are a good source. That said, we always start with the manufacturer and move down the supply chain from there.

However, I couldn't ever reconcile in my mind that my supplier was somehow getting items for a lower price than what I was getting!

It drove me nuts, and all I wanted to do is find out his source. He masked it well, particularly because he knew I was pretty interested. I asked him flat-out once, and he wouldn't tell me.

I was eventually able to find a wholesaler that did sell these items, and increased my profits.

However, THEN I questioned: WHERE IS MY WHOLESALER GETTING THEM!?

They were also reluctant to tell me, and I never found that one out.

However, because my item was generic (no name brand out of it) I was able to ship it to a manufacturer in China where they said: "Yeah, we can make that."

Their successful reverse-engineering brought my cost down from 8.00 a unit to around 1.50 a unit.

From there, I do buy large quantities, and I have container load that empties every 18 months. It's nice to have the inventory on hand and have absolute control over the item. Shipping times, tracking numbers, etc.

If you want to be a top-rated seller on eBay, you have to be quick at fulfillment. Dropshippers go on vacation, have secretaries that have no idea what their doing as far as fulfillment, etc. (I had a mom-and-pop dropshipper at first.)

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I have been checking on taxes and from what I see, you need to report dropshipping sales, buying from one site and reselling on ebay, as short term capital gains ( USA ) and not income. That's a pretty heavy tax burden.

I have been checking on taxes and from what I see, you need to report dropshipping sales, buying from one site and reselling on ebay, as short term capital gains ( USA ) and not income. That's a pretty heavy tax burden.

Does that sound correct?

From what I have gathered, drop ship inventory is considered a "Non-inventory items" which is subject to capital gains tax. And of-course capital gains tax is considered "Unearned income" by good old Uncle Sam.

With her cost of £60 and the selling price of her most expensive model being £79, her margins are not great.

Like all the great success stories we read about on WF the total sales figure sounds impressive but profit is what business is all about.

A margin of 20% is pathetic! I would never accept a margin less than cost x 250%. I have always liked my business to work for me, not me work for my business.

Here is an email from one of my book users who started off small: "Ok. From extremely skeptical to successful completion. Credit given where credit is due. I followed the book instructions you laid out. Took my time to double check everything and was able to successfully import an order from China. Not only that but it was also a "sample order" for less than 300.00. A 300% mark up has allowed to get initial investment back and I have 70% of my inventory left. Stop promoting your book. Your encouraging competition for me Many thanks." Email on file for FTC inspection if required.

Most people seem to have no idea how to buy at the best price. That's where profits begin.

From what I have gathered, drop ship inventory is considered a "Non-inventory items" which is subject to capital gains tax. And of-course capital gains tax is considered "Unearned income" by good old Uncle Sam.

Correct me if im wrong here...

While I advise against dropshipping because of the poor profit margins, it is nevertheless trading, and profits from trading are taxable in the ordinary way, not as capital gains.

You really need to talk to a tax professional but I can tell you that what you said is not correct in every case. It depends on what kind of business structure you have. For example, if you have a sole proprietorship or an LLC, you pay normal income tax. Usually you also have to pay self-employment tax in addition to income tax.

I recently bought a course about making money online by selling stuff on UK eBay and Amazon UK with dropshipping.

After spending hours researching I could not find anything on the dropshipping sites that met the criteria mentioned in the course. All the products I was interested in were being sold cheaper on eBay than I could buy them for from dropshippers.

So, my question is does anyone here make money with dropshipping?

I got a refund on the course in the end!

Sandy

Very few of them make money.... not a gud stuff for Internet Marketer... better stay away from it...

Very few of them make money.... not a gud stuff for Internet Marketer... better stay away from it...

Complete nonsense!!! That may be true for affiliate/PPC courses but NOT for dropship/ecommerce courses. The only students we have that don't succeed are those that give up prematurely. If you learn what you need to learn and don't give up you will succeed!

Complete nonsense!!! That may be true for affiliate/PPC courses but NOT for dropship/ecommerce courses. The only students we have that don't succeed are those that give up prematurely. If you learn what you need to learn and don't give up you will succeed!

Although I teach direct importing of small quantities as a viable alternative to dropshipping, I completely agree with Dave.

There may be some dodgy dropship/ecommerce courses, but not those being offered by people like Dave who know what they are doing and are worth learning from.

I found dropshipping to be very difficult as margins can be quite small especially on Ebay with the highly inflated fees.

The best way is to identify small micro niches online (e.g. dolls for boys haha not kidding), check the demand and supply (can do this manually or use a research tool like Terapeak - here is a decent video on how to use it effectively - Finding Profitable Items to sell on eBay with Terapeak) and then buy bulk.

You can source products on Alibaba (Gold+ Suppliers - Alibaba checks whether the business is registered in its local business region therefore usually are the most legit suppliers) and ignore the minimum order requirements because they are usually highly inflated. Talk with the rep, negotiate to get costs down. Always negotiate! Don't be shy and go on Skype, i have found it to be be more effective than just instant messaging.

You can source products on Alibaba (Gold+ Suppliers - Alibaba checks whether the business is registered in its local business region therefore usually are the most legit suppliers) and ignore the minimum order requirements because they are usually highly inflated. Talk with the rep, negotiate to get costs down. Always negotiate! Don't be shy and go on Skype, i have found it to be be more effective than just instant messaging.

Sure you can source products on Alibaba if you are willing to take the risks involved in relying on Gold Supplier badges as a sign of reliability or trustworthiness

Here is a statement from Alibaba's website: "Onsite Check is a verification process for China Gold Suppliers. The supplier's company's premises are checked by Alibaba.com's staff to ensure onsite operations exist there. The suppliers' legal status and other related information are then confirmed by a third-party verification agency."

What this all amounts to is that regardless of the Gold badges displayed the only thing you can be sure of is that the business actually exists and at least has an office that they may have rented for the day. Does that reassure you?

Well, drop shipping is one of the best way to make money. My most of the friends are working as a drop shipper and earning a lot more money with the help of this. The biggest advantage of drop shipping is, you don't need to have your own inventory, you just need to make a contact with supplier and earn money through this.

I recently bought a course about making money online by selling stuff on UK eBay and Amazon UK with dropshipping.

After spending hours researching I could not find anything on the dropshipping sites that met the criteria mentioned in the course. All the products I was interested in were being sold cheaper on eBay than I could buy them for from dropshippers.

So, my question is does anyone here make money with dropshipping?

I got a refund on the course in the end!

Sandy

Well we are uk based and started last year in april sales were over 20,000 with just ebay alone . profit margen was very low as it was a new ebay account . This year within first three months its gone to 6000 and now having a good feedback making decent profit > So yes making money with drop ship business .
Just to let you know we are selling a opencart back end with 1600+ register buyers with their complete info, if you are interested . Dropship isnot just work you have to go for right products.

Buying from Amazon and selling on Ebay is not true dropshipping. That is a type of online arbitrage. It is possible to make a little profit doing this. You dont have to be the lowest price all the time. The problem is there are a lot of people doing this now and you are competing with them

Buying from Amazon and selling on Ebay is not true dropshipping. That is a type of online arbitrage. It is possible to make a little profit doing this. You dont have to be the lowest price all the time. The problem is there are a lot of people doing this now and you are competing with them

You'll always find a lot of people selling stuff all over the Internet, doing arbitrage, dropshipping, aff. marketing, importing, CPA, coaching and a bunch of other known methods.
That's a fact. You have to live with that and find the way to overcome this reality.
And of course it is not easy but it's doable.

I should also add that dropshipping can be a great "gateway drug" ... you can fill out a site with relevant products while you're working on finding your audience, then later take an inventory position on the ones that are selling consistently.

There are millions of products to choose from, but not all of them will make you money. Research is essential. To determine how well and for how much your item can sell, look at eBay's completed items. If the item you are researching sold many times and at a price that meets your margins, then it's a keeper. If the product is not listed, that's even better. You can dominate the market until other sellers catch on. Rather than concentrate on a percentage for your profit margin, look at the dollars that item will generate. If you can make either 12 dollars selling a 4-dollar item for 16 dollars or 50 dollars from selling a 100-dollar item for 150 dollars, which would you choose? Think about it.

Strategies for Success
Some of the greatest success from drop shipping on eBay comes from using other retailers, not wholesalers. Items selling on clearance at retailer websites can be used to fulfill orders. Many times these items are even cheaper than wholesale, because the store wants to get rid of it. When someone buys the item from your eBay listing, you go to the retailer's website, place an order with your payment information and the eBay buyer's shipping address. You don't need to tell the retailer you are reselling the item. This strategy works well because the retailer has reliable shipping times and quality items. It takes research to find that hot item, but the profit margin can be anywhere from 100 to 400 percent. Sometimes retailers limit the number of items a customer can purchase, so check the store's policy before you list a bunch of them. You can also pretend to purchase the item, type in a large quantity and see if it is placed into your online shopping cart. Monitor quantities every few days to make sure the item is still available from the retailer.

I tried it myself & found it hard to be able to find the right sites & products. I did a few & by the time Ebay took thier fees I came out behind, after investing a reasonable amount of money as well. So I had to walk away & treat it as a paid lesson.Finally I found an ethical company thats paid out over $25m in commissions & I am able to make $1k, $3K & $5K commissions regularly now & know I am helping others.

Yes you can plently of money to be made and the perfect time to get into drop shipping. To find quality suppliers look at your competitors in your niche, then check out there brands. Get a list of the brands they carry and check if they enforce MAP pricing. If they do your half way there on a winner.

Yes you can plently of money to be made and the perfect time to get into drop shipping. To find quality suppliers look at your competitors in your niche, then check out there brands. Get a list of the brands they carry and check if they enforce MAP pricing. If they do your half way there on a winner.

Incidentally I believe that thread was rather conclusive that dropshipping can't possibly be better than importing. People thinking of dropshipping could do a lot worse than read the whole thread.

Originally Posted by Bookehost

Not more than 10% of profit anyway and you should to be a very professional for this margin earning.

Yes, 10% margin is very commonly quoted by warriors who use the dropshipping business format. I have seen some quoting as high as 30%, but not many.

At a 10% margin, dropship resellers are just cheap labor for the dropship wholesalers.

There is a viable alternative. Import small quantities direct from manufacturers. Here's a copy of an email from one of my book users who started very small, with only $300: "Ok. From extremely skeptical to successful completion. Credit given where credit is due. I followed the book instructions you laid out. Took my time to double check everything and was able to successfully import an order from China. Not only that but it was also a “sample order” for less than 300.00. A 300% mark up has allowed to get initial investment back and I have 70% of my inventory left. Stop promoting your book. Your encouraging competition for me Many thanks."Email on file for FTC inspection if required.

"If you think education is expensive - consider the cost of ignorance."